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wind pattern info needed

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chokepoint

New Member
"A lot of times when setting on an edge, such as those along an open field, the wind will actually "Barrel Roll" over the tree tops and push your scent the opposite direction.. A light breeze will drift it out.. "

I came to this site on a search for such info. Does any one know where to find more detail on the web or elsewhere regarding wind patterns over terrain?

I saw an article on this once but I can't find it. I can't find much on the web either.
 
Don't know where to find any more info on it, but I know a light breeze in my face isn't going to blow back out into the field. When I set up on an edge, I'm not buried in the timber.......even if the wind does somehow "barrel roll" it won't be on the edge where it makes first contact with the tree tops.
 
Have you ever watched water flow down a creek? Through the snags and over rocks?? Ever notice how it swirls and eddies behind obstacles?? Air does the same thing as it flows over and through topographical features..Don't believe me?? Next time you head to the woods carry a bottle of the kid's bubbles and let a few strings go and see how they move around and in behind things. Try a few strings from your favorite tree stand.. You might be surprised to see where all it meanders..
 
the "barrel roll" won't really push your scent back into the woods behind you....maybe for a few feet. fire up a cigar and set up obsticles in front of a fan set on low, and puf some smoke out in the wind current, it should give you an idea of what goes on
 
There used to be a product called "wind floaters" (or something like that) that a buddy who's an elk guide told me about. They're really light fibers that you pull out of a little pack and let go. They ride the wind current and you can see them for a long distance. Marabou feathers (used in fly-tying and making fishing jigs) work pretty good, too.

These are good tools to observe the funky things wind can do. In my experience, elevation changes are the biggest factor in wind shifts, but tree lines, brush, etc can all be a factor.

Sometimes the wind in a particular stand varies from the prevailing wind (the one that blows in flat ground that the weatherman tells you about) by a lot. You can test the wind from that stand with a floater and see if it varies from the prevailing wind, then remember it (or write it down in a journal). That way you know if the wind is blowing from X direction on the flat, it'll be blowing from Y direction at your stand. Saves you from walking all the way there, only to realize "Oops. Wrong wind, better go!"

Sorry for the rambling. When you hunt in the bluff country, you get to be kind of a psycho about fickle winds /forum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif
 
Wind swirls just like anything else, or "barrel rolls" as you called it. Before I started doing the scent control thing and just played the wind, I had some great stands for each wind but kept getting busted, so I do believe in the "barrel roll".

I wouldn't be too concerned with how the terrain affects the wind, but just make sure to keep using the right stands on the right winds and using good scent control. If you think too far into it you'll probably drive yourself nuts.
 
A scent checking tip that won't cost you anything... I gather the "silks" from the milkweed pods that are prevalent in the fall and place them in a plastic baggie that I keep in my hunting coat.

I also remove the little brown seed heads for a more "fluffy" float when I release them. They are light enough that they float on the winds very well and can be seen for a fair distance. They definitely shift in the wind and will even "stall" at times and come back towards you, etc, in a shifty wind.

The trickiest winds for me are those in a "bowl" on the edge of the timber, lots of swirling there that leads to tough choices on stands and so forth.
 
Two good tips, Daver!

One, using milkweed fluff, two, cutting off the seed so you aren't broadcasting what some consider a noxious weed. I bet removing the seed makes them float better, too.
 
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